Friday, January 01, 2010

The Balance of Nature

The Philippines has distinguished itself as an excellent location to study the special relationship that some indigenous cultures have with nature.

For example, the forest-dwelling Hanunoo of Mindoro are well known in this field of research. Harold C. Conklin found that the Hanunoo had a very deep knowledge of the natural world around them especially the plant world. They classified plants into 1625 categories -- more than the number found in the modern botanical taxonomy --which were further grouped into 890 taxa. In comparison, modern botanists recognize 1,100 species and 650 genera in the same area.

Of the Hanunoo's 1625 plant species about 93 percent had some use for the people. From 500 to 600 were considered exclusively edible while 406 were considered exclusively medicinal. They grew 413 different types of plants including 280 food crops, and they recognized 92 different types of rice. Crops were rotated, and from 40 to 50 crops -- or up to 125 cultigens -- could be found growing on a single swidden.

The Hanunoo realized the delicate balance that must be maintained between agricultural and forest land. They preferred to clear secondary forest rather than virgin forest, and they protected their secondary forest and fallow land with firebreaks.

The Ayta of Pinatubo are another forest group noteworthy for their knowledge and relationship with nature. The Ayta continue to study and learn about their natural world to this day.

They have an intricate understanding of their environment and according to Robert Fox, writing in 1952, an average Ayta could easily name at least 450 plants, 75 birds and more than 20 species of ants. Although they had no use for many of these plants, they still found it important to know about them as they understood the ecological "relationships of the plants with the animal and insect world."

Thus, the Ayta know when each plant flowers and fruits, and they recognize the calls of birds and many intricacies of the behavior and life cycles of animals, insects and other wildlife. In their belief system, they know of two types of "environmental spirits" -- the beneficient anito spirit , and the malefic kamana spirit. These environmental spirits inhabit "the forest, trunk of a huge tree, bamboo thicket, rock, stream, cave, and other places or objects."

In order not to offend the spirits of a place, the Ayta took create care not to harm or desecrate the environment. Mount Pinatubo, in particular, was held holy and the entire sacred geography of that mountain from gully to tree formed part of the prodigious indigenous knowledge of the Ayta. They were careful not to over-exploit or harm the natural resources of Mt. Pinatubo or any other area for fear of angering the anitos or even the Supreme God, Apo Namalyari.

The forests were not only important for swidden agriculturalists in the Philippines, but also for those who used transplantation agriculture. The Igorots of northern Luzon maintained their muyong or secondary forests for collecting wood and other forest products, but also for the purpose of replenishing the soil of their agricultural terraces. The muyong woodlots were not primary forest, but old swidden fields converted into secondary forest.

The tidal rice agriculture and fish pond system of Lower Pampanga also depended on the forests of Upper Pampanga and Zambales to provide water and new silt for the land. The old dike or pampang system consisted of "water towns" in which the buildings were all placed on stilts and boats were parked in front of every house. During the flood season, the rivers and canals deposited a new layer of sediment over the entire region. While mangrove forestry was practiced on the dikes and on the bay's shore, most forest and swidden products had to be collected from outside the tidal system.

Much of the area between Mt. Pinatubo and Mt. Arayat before modern times was heavily forested, and there was a brisk trade for timber, deer meat and other products. According to Bergano's dictionary, venison was once the greatest delicacy among meats for Kapampangans and widely-consumed, but today most have never tasted the flesh of the native usa. Bergano also mentions the term caqueuan whichmeant both a "forest" and a "field that was turned into a forest." So the caqueuan may have been the Kapampangan equivalent of the muyong secondary forest of the Igorots.

The destruction of the forests in Upper Pamapanga helped cause the usa sambar deer to go extinct in this area. Indeed most of Upper Pampanga acted as a type of muyong for the rest of the region, but it's modern agricultural and urban development has had serious environmental repercussions. When the Spanish arrived, the area Lower Pampanga and a bit of Upper Pampanga alone supplied not only its own rice and food supplies but also the needs for the large and growing city of Manila and the surrounding environs as well. Whenever there was a shortage of rice in Pampanga, a famine would occur in Manila.

One with nature

A factor that may have lent to the respect for nature among certain groups in this region is the belief that human souls transmigrated and were reborn as animals, plants, other living things, or even as inanimate objects and places.

Some of them worshiped a certain bird, others the crocodile; for holding the same fancy regarding the transmigration of souls as was held by Pythagoras in his palingenesis, they believed that, after certain cycles of years, the souls of their forefathers were turned into crocodiles.

-- Pablo de Jesus Letter to Gregory XIII

The above quote is interesting in that Bergano's Kapampangan dictionary reveals that the word dapu (dapo) means both "crocodile" and "great-grandparent" or specifically "great-great-grandparent" (tatarabuelo). Among the Kapampangans, as among many other regional ethnicities, the clan or descent group is established to the fifth generation, and this clan/group is likened to a human body with each generation represented by a different body part. The dapu would be the ancestor four generations back from whom one determines clan relationships.

The python skin pattern of the hanggi textile made by the Kodi of West Sumba, Indonesia. The python was widely seen in Southeast Asia as a symbol of rebirth due to its practice of shedding its skin. (Source: National Gallery of Australia)

Interestingly, the Hanunoo also determine their clans according to the great-great-grandfather who is known as 'apu -- an apparent cognate of Kapampangan dapu. They view their ancestors as dwelling in the land of the dead until four generations have passed at which time they become 'apu returning to the world of the living. If we apply this to de Jesus letter above in which he says "after certain cycles of years, the souls of their forefathers were turned into crocodiles," we could say that in the Kapampangan case after four generations one reincarnates into a crocodile.

We also know that there was a belief that humans reincarnated in later cycles as humans again also. Grijalba in 1624 writes that the ancient Filipinos believed in "transmigration from one body to another: and that the only the gods rewarded or punished in having them imprisoned in beautiful bodies, or ugly, poor or rich, good or bad."

In addition, we know that the early Filipinos often saw millenarian figures as divine incarnations, or as reincarnations of past heroes. Tapar, for example, who led a revolt in 1663, declared that he was an incarnation of the "Eternal Father," and that among his followers were incarnations known as the Son, Holy Ghost and "Maria Santisima." In more recent times, the revolutionary hero Jose Rizal was considered a reincarnation of Jesus Christ by at least 14 different sects according to Leonardo Mercado. And later figures often claimed that they were reincarnations of Jose Rizal.

However, how did this reincarnation back into human form occur? Was it after the incarnation as a crocodile? Bergano also gives another term nunu, which can be a general reference to one's predecessors but appears to refer specifically to the great-grandparent. Nunu, however, is also a term for an inhabitant of a termite mound, ant-hill or large tree (like the balete) in local folk belief. Possibly this represents an incarnation as a mound or a tree, or as ants or termites. In many cases, the nunu is viewed as a dwarf race similar to humans. Possibly such an incarnation came after the crocodile incarnation in descending order.

Earlier in this blog, I suggested that a number multiplied by itself was seen as a type of cycle known as dalan. I linked this with the reign periods of the kings of Shambhala, located in the Southern Sea or Milky Ocean, and equated by me with the Pampanga region and the medieval kingdom known as Zabag (Suvarnadvipa)

So five times five would represent a complete cycle after which it may be that the soul would reincarnate back into human form. Every five generations of the person's descendants would result in a new non-human incarnation but after four such births the soul again becomes human. Thus the total cycle consists of 25 generations with five incarnations.

Now, in the Milky Ocean the Hindus believed that there was a cycle of incarnations or avatars of the god Visnu. The first four of these incarnations happen to be animal incarnations. They are in order incarnations as a giant fish, turtle, pig and lion-man. The first fully human incarnation is Vamana, the fifth avatar, who also happens to be a dwarf.

Visnu's first three avatars have an oceanic and geological orientation similar to the creatures associated with the pillars of the earth and the navel of the sea in Philippine myth, or with similar regional myths of oceanic-geologic catastrophe. Often known as the tandayag, these creatures were viewed variously as fish, whale, crocodile, dragon, boar, serpent, crab, eel, etc. Like the matsya (fish), kurma (turtle) and varaha (boar) avatars of Visnu, the tandayag is associated with great world floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural catastrophes, and with changes in the landscape and geology.

Although there is some evidence of karma in relation to the concept of transmigration in the Philippines, generally the incarnations as animals were not considered evolutionary in any way. Indeed, the crocodile, for example, was greatly revered and it was considered an honor to be born as such an animal!

Another difference is that in the Philippine system, reincarnation was strictly family oriented. If one did not have descendants in sufficient quantity, then the cycles stopped and one stays in the afterlife. The idea of transmigration was clearly associated with providing assistance to one's family lineage in different incarnations, at least some of which were animal incarnations. As the people believed that animals and other living things could be incarnations of their own ancestors, they held that there was a deep connection between all life forms.

Non-human ancestors

In addition to reincarnating as non-human life, there was also a widespread belief here in totemic descent from animals and other living things, and even inanimate objects in nature. Such beliefs are of course quite widespread and they tend to create an idea that all life belongs to one great family.

Indeed, modern science does support the idea that all life is genetically related, and the peoples who closely observed nature may have recognized this in their own way.

The Bagobo of Mindanao even have a myth of their origin that anticipates in a vague way Darwin's ideas on the relationships between species:

Bagobo tradition records that before time began to be reckoned, before man was made, the universe was peopled by creatures that are now called monkeys (lutung) ; but at that primeval period monkeys had the form of man and were in all respects human. After man appeared on the earth, the apes took on their presentform. Although the line of separation between monkeys and human beings was then pretty well established, there still lingered a tendency toward metamorphosis, by which the simian groups gained an occasional recruit from the ranks of man.

In addition to descent from other forms of life, there was also the belief that certain types of sorcerers and other classes of people could transform themselves into different animals or creatures. The aswang, for example, who could become a dog, pig, cat, bird or other animal. The line between humans, animals, plants, etc. was vaguely drawn in these cultures.

The concept of an all-pervading unity also extended beyond earth into the sky. In the Philippines and Borneo, there is a myth in which Sky and Earth marry and produce a child. The divine child is eventually divided in half when the couple separates or argues. One half becomes a new mortal being, sometimes a progenitor of humans, while the other half is used to create different celestial phenomenon, animals, diseases, etc. In the Ifugao version of this myth, the sky half of the child becomes lightning, while the earthly transmigration becomes thunder.

According to a Sulod myth, all living things are born from the different body parts of the goddess Bayi. So in essence all things are related as part of one great ecological family.

When Mother Nature strikes back

In both a practical and spiritual sense, the indigenous belief systems in this region recognized that there were consequences for disturbing the natural balance, or for desecrating sacred land.

Practically, they knew of the consequences that resulted from conditions like wild fires or soil depletion. In their mythological beliefs, they had abundant tales of nature's wrath for humanity's transgressions against nature.

Many myths attribute great natural disasters to the disturbance of either the social or the natural order. Among the Aytas of Pinatubo and the Kapampangans, there was a firm belief that any desecration of the holy mountains, or abuse of their natural resources, resulted in the wrath and punishment of gods and nature.

Sinukuan, the god of Arayat, did not tolerate any unkindness to the wildlife that lived on his mountain. In many other cultures in the region, there are similar customs. Among the Manobo and Bagobo, one should never make fun of animals as doing so would invite painful punishment from the gods. Most cultures in this area during ancient times asked permission before hunting, gathering or harvesting. One could kill other living things for food but only with idea that you had their consent, and often with the knowledge that at some time you would also contribute your own body to the great food chain.

When the natural balance was disturbed, rituals for renewal often had to be performed. The Batak conduct such rites to "heal the world" when great natural disasters occur due to some social disorder. Among the Badjao sea gypsies, rites of renewal are performed by the individual each morning in solar rituals. Rites to renew the whole community are conducted during periods of famine, epidemic or some other calamity that impacts Badjao society.

When Mt. Pinatubo erupted, the Ayta discovered by their seance ritual the cause of the disaster and performed the talbeng ritual to appease the wrath of the mountain and its god, and to start the process of bringing back life to the region.

Observations of people like the Pinatubo Ayta that demonstrate how all life is interrelated and interdependent undoubtedly helped to create the indigenous views in this region toward nature, and the belief in the need to maintain a sustainable relationship. In this worldview, humans are not conquerors of nature, but part of nature and equally as dependent on the natural balance as others in the ecosystem.

1 comments:

I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Here's the poem found in the intro of volume 4 of Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan (click on pic above for more info):

Quests

Exploits grand, powerful currents of history
The search for one's origins
Desire and calling flowing deep within the blood
Serpentine and winged messengers

Forested and palmed isles in crystalline waters
A land where two holy mounts preside
calling winds from all directions
heaping up the waves from Ocean's currents

In the descent of the Sun, born at night
during the time of the great feast
In between the two great lineages
Waiting until the last minute, hiding...

The glory of the clans, the bird and serpent
back and forth along the great plain
and the long serpentine rivers
Rising and setting like the two bright orbs

Strong and resilient, a guarded heritage
A trunk mighty like a banyan
yet flexing and recovering like a willow
Deep river of knowledge and inner power

Sprawling delta split into isles by dikes
and a myriad of waterways large and small
Fish ponds and rice fields as far as one can see
A royal land of ari, dayang and pampang

From days long past, the ancestors intuited the plan
The clan constructed the superstructure and laid the wayposts
Toil and sacrifice prepared the way concealed from colonial eyes
To a new Lusung in a land known to ancient progenitors

Galleons sailing through time to steamboats
through changes on the sea and on the land
empires come and go like the morning dew
servicing the waves of our dams and sires

Switching of the guard, the southern advance
A landing on the coast of the new Gold Mountain
As in Heaven, so on Earth
Bringing the light across the seas to a new abode

After thousands of years, the turning of ages beckons
Seed to spread throughout a waiting globe
Old holy land to sleep and wait
A material cocoon to encase Sun and Moon

Mirroring the old in the new
Matching myths and landscapes, sometimes reoriented
Creating a familiar home and environment
At the same time strange and recognizable

Nexus of trade and communication networks
Mother and guardian of ships and seafarers
Route of spices, gold, metals, trade goods
Transplanted to the land of the queen's retreat

Streams of time and history converge
and diverge toward the center, new and old
cycles of conflict, hidden agendas, new alliances
A great plan without structure, spontaneous

World at war, families in flight
hiding in forest and in field, ponds
March of death for weary soldiers
Covert resistance against the red circle

Peace at last, but then, boarding the golden boat
looking for work in the amazonian isle
a clan begins its move to the east, to the world's edge
to the furthest coastlands of Prester John

New soil to host the blood
new earth to flow in the blood
Pearl of the ages moving for the first time
as before, pulling together the merchant streams

Best of humans drawn toward the magnetic mountain
New ideas flow in and out, leading the direction of thought
Migration paths intersect, denizens of the deep and air
come together to the great conference of earth's inhabitants

Arrival in the 50s, post-war, baby boom, capitalist golden age
Birthing the Cornucopia, great fertile fields
Picking the crops, odd jobs as available to send money home
A father and son working in the new land

Then son joins Air Force as the father had joined Army before
A new son arrives from the old country
Marriage near the base, near the site where it all began
A new family arises to take up the struggle

My birth at a hospital that stands now as a relic
on Thanksgiving night at dinner time
Within months off to the land of the red circle
Sister born at base converted now to Showa's park

Boarding again a plane for transpacific flight
leaving Mama-san behind to reunite with Queen Calafia
Where grandfather continues to work the land
together with uncles as the trunk and tip grows

Learning about the spirits and the stars
While a brother visits us briefly
before departing to SkyWorld to be with ancestors
Then another brother, the youngest of four siblings, arrives

Father stationed again in the ancestral land
By this time inspiring awe for its natural beauty and wonder
Imperfect start in recontact with the wild
Bite of the aswang sets the stage for the future

Going back to Cali, Cali
under the protection and guidance of the strong black one
From the South to the North with Snoopy in tow
Across Disney's land to the windy northern terminus

Learning the nature of the rock and its faithfulness
Understanding that treasures are usually hidden
the truth found just below or deep under the surface
Gaining insight in the loving warmth of the hearth

Into the 70s, the fruit of desegregation in the South
Kung fu fighting and blaxploitation
Coming of age in a mostly hostile environment
First yearnings to discover one's roots

Creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, sea with bro and fam
Waking up to latest tunes from sister's sound system
In the snow with dogs, bunnies and birds
Nature becomes a great teacher and nurturer

Learning of the conflicts of color and race
building a body of strength and endurance
saying goodbye to the clan progenitor
Leaving through tumbleweeds and dust devils

Black dog on a plane crossing the seas
Back to the birth land in the rainy season
Memories folded and unfolded, re-lived
Severed roots replanted in volcanic soil and sand

Reconnecting with the alluvial streams and rivers
flowing from the Zambales mountains and Arayat
Going "native" and acquiring new knowledge
Hearing the voice of the Earth and Sky

Valuable clues and leads missed but not forgotten
Shadows of a hoary genealogy, a grave error
relinking with the blood and the lineages
becoming a fighter and rebel, but still without direction

Burning up the disco floor in polyester
high school graduation with Aeta queens
Instruction from the Great Feminine
returning "stateside" after soeur

Searching for family knowledge and a path
driving back and forth across rice fields and delta
following tradition and joining the military
Army boot camp and assignment to Europe

Pathfinding through German forests and mountains
Using orientation and navigation skills inherited
starting to find my causes and determination
Adventures in Paris, Florence, London and other cities

Martial arts training comes in handy
First noticed experiences with the Earth and Sky defenders
Noting dimly how the higher camp watches over things
here on the planet providing precious help at various times

Welcome to the 80s at the height of the Cold War
along comes Ronnie and Star Wars
Fulda Gap closes and a wall comes down
For each step forward, we also move back a little

Breaking free, realizing the conflict of "races"
A stop in Vegas and Hollywood thinking of the future
meandering about leads back to the university
studying politics and film, rubbing elbows with stars in LA

Back to the religion of when?
Animal guides show us paths not taken recently
how many texts were read and studied
how much energy misplaced but not completely

Tiny little Tori comes into the fold
patrolling the night with the teething pup
thinking about the direction given by grandparents
A new totemic teacher learns her calling

Leaping athletically to catch the prize
combing through the riddles of the ages
Sacramento is still an open space
Cowtown but formerly a Gold Rush hub

With sister studying college engineering
Brother heads off to Germany for Air Force stint
Adventure in the Bering Sea
combines with ethnological experience arousing curiosity

Taking a break to travel across the country by train
breaking open a book by a history master
enough to quickly gain understanding of purposeful error
connecting the dots about my own heritage and history

Pilgrimage denied setting off a new career
as person of action, messiah in my own mind
Throwing my lot into the perilous Middle East
believing and acting as if the pen is mightier

Letters as the weapons of choice
Arabian nights and East Asian unity
Taking a stand for the truth, for the cause
subversive forces start the 'civilizational war'

Blending word magic with spiritual fervor
Under the watchful eye of the Guru priestess
Winds of war and atmosphere blow fiercely, strongly
Eruption at the Axis Mundi, at Mount Pinatubu

Poetry and prose exploring the depths of devotion
Diving into the grand diversity of global culture
Learning, understanding the complex web
of history, politics, economy and spirituality

In the 50s, the blood comes to the District of Calafia
Newborn plant roots during the 60s Revolution
Coming of age for the young ones in Disco 70s
Learning and experience during the 80s transition

Timeline moves into the 90s age of Internet and Millennium
Ancient messengers move through the air
Great Equalizer brings power to the people
Mutia establishes the new center of commerce and messaging

Birth of the new generation in this line
First daughter and son of the brother
By this time, most of both bilateral clans
relocated to the new Golden State

Some of the old generation depart, some too soon
Toti keeps watch of the sky and the stars
Long hours in the caves of libraries and archives
Searching for details of the "rest of the story"

Sila, the feline hero, survivor of multiple ordeals
shows strength and opens the way
providing protection and ointment during times of woes
Two friends finding the path for the household

As one reclaims the past, the pun and the sepu
sailing through the annals of ancient mariners
riding the waves of the sea, of Kekai
To know where you're going, know where you came from

At the confluence of two rivers, floodplain of the Sierra
Holy Mount Shasta to the North, Mazama further still
In the great delta, the nation's Cornucopia
connecting to the bay and ocean, to the ports

Sacramento sets the rule and the tariff
dual epicenters to the west and south
sending out messages, hub of communication
leading in trade, bringing the nations together

Camp of Sky, Earth and Spirit stationed above and below
Leviathan visits near the confluence, twice
Sea lions, turtles make pilgrimages
Multitudes of birds come seasonally to the convergence

A new Suvarnadvipa with its own dual mountains
Llao and Skell in the valley of the sacred meal
Animal apus gather as well for exchange
of spirit and deeds and remembrance

Taking a stand on history and culture
Refuting the Eurocentric establishment
tackling the intricacies of linguistics, archaeology and more
traveling to relevant sites throughout the globe

"Holy Land," Jambudvipa, Himalayas and original "Eden"
picking up clues here and there from nooks and crannies
Thunder snow near Jerusalem and a Damascus road moment
Clarity now and an opportunity to move forward in truth

Gazing at Sun, Moon, planets and stars
watching for signs, marks and wonders
Speaking about the relevance of nothingness
Back once again to the whitened Indung Tibuan

From the roots up through the trunk, through time
streaming through the branches to leaves in prime
ancient blood lineages flow to the storied tip
legends and prophesies unlocked from the golden crypt

Memories and memes through tributaries flow
into the Great River's currents' tow
Pieces of the puzzle reassemble in the fight
restoring hidden treasures to the light

Ancestors and elders build the grand structure
Mazama for Pinatubo, Shasta for Arayat
New land split by gold dust rivers
New power center for the line of the Great Pearl

Running together with the not-so-young Lions
Finally earning a political journalistic credential
Playing the herald like a Pinoy Eagle
Creating my own grand virtual universe

Learning the code and the prognostication
Dancing like its 1999 at the new millennium's birth
Sister and husband find energy alternatives
bringing opportunities for the people of APU

A new century and scholar learns the business trade
Digital clocks survive and apocalypse fears fade
Time and age march on and bring reality back
That in our worldly lives, struggle we can never lack

Justice, liberty, freedom, equity are not free
Without engagement, success, you shall not see
As a family and friends learn to participate
We guide the politics, rely less on fate

Newborn nephew arrives too soon
a fighter, though, he meets the challenge
through the intercessors comes a boon
to family feeling the reaper's singe

Old, grizzled Jupiter guide
Yellow priestess on who I relied
Served you in your fading days
Apung Sila before you led the way

Farewell, way openers as you pass to the light
We remember you as we continue through the night
Days of ending come and new one arrives
A guiding star afresh to light up our lives

Apung Toti, Apung Sila instruct the pup
Siblings raise the banner as Sun comes up
Herald the time that ancients knew
When gold for iron comes anew

Apung Guintu sailed the sea
Apung Iru seeded the land
Uncles and aunts expanded the tree
Guided and hidden by celestial hand

The foe and oppressor over time crept
up until the weary, lowered old guard slept
Traditions kept deep within the heart
Chosen clan members keeping each part

Trunk and tip left withered and dry
time flows and truth keepers sigh
But awaited reviving time draws near
Guardians stand strong and free from fear

Forced silence reigns for many centuries
Biblical precepts and related prophecies
give way to doctrines of master "race"
Organized confusion instead of facts

Then suddenly a booming voice
pent-up secrets pour out like a flood
not by accident but by design
according to intricacies of chosen time

Under the direction of the Guiding Star
a journal to trace the steps of the great clan
lineage to uncover the lineage of old
Mountain Spirit born again for expected epoch

Founded on an infamous anniversary
Initiated for those with knowledge cursory
Winding timeline with innumerable nodes
Ancient arcane secrets and cryptic codes

Just weeks before tribulation's dawn
Lord of the Sea reigning strong
Song of the ancestors to be sung
Riding back on the waves to the highest rung

Malyari, Sinukuan, Tala, Manalastas
Maya, Mingan, heroes of the past
Alive again today in letter and song
Pun and sepu revived and growing strong

Dog man blogs all the night long
looking to right the history wronged
Belief in his struggle forged in the fire
Golden treasures brought out from under the mire

Knowledge flowed to cetacean pilgrimage site
answers found that seemed nowhere in sight
doubts allayed by songs of the spirit
problems solved by what seemed like kismet

Ancient floods receded long ago
but made their mark by the sign of their flow
riddles within riddles seemed like too much to fight
but the answer lied in Tashi's canine might

Dual mysteries on two different tracks
that with time and effort eventually converge
A great house with many floors and rooms
a giant net with innumerable nodes

Predecessors moving knowingly and unknowingly
working through tradition and hunch and intuition
and sometimes with purpose and design
creating the frame, rigging the protective hull

Messages in a mostly forgotten language
impulses from deep within the soul and spirit
enquiries to the higher board
treasured knowledge from shadowy informants

Stories of genealogies chanted
memorized line by line from elder to younger
Enigmas and clues from Baluga and Igorot
Words, names and stories of history's mystery

Great river of bloodlines from Axis Mundi's land
tributaries from Ta-Seti, Kemet and other distant places
merging into a non-coincidental stream
merging story and song with modern reality

Animal family and spirit guides
in front and back leading the way
knowledge comes from past, present and future
Canine, feline, aviary, marine and other mentors

Deep into the causes in the New Millennium
living for purpose rather than simple pleasure
family moves toward planetary care
with the High Sun as the great sustainer

Using the Net to access easily once distant works
Work that could take months and years down to hours
Messaging through multiple nodes within six steps near
Gatekeepers vanquished, barriers smashed, knowledge wins

Migrations past and present, seeing the connections
a tale of two camps that once united as one
philosophical animism and dual contradictions
Seeing Time as Lord and past, present and future as one

Within Columbia's borders, the dark enters the white
Hope and change and proclamation: "Yes, we can"
Stories of old unfold interwoven with breaking events
Moving in concert with land and atmosphere

Beautiful Venus, Aphrodite delivers the foes
a broken bridge and "father" of woes
Planet's travails push waves to the border
Public mind accepts need for new global order

Orbital home warming, a story from the past
The Great Scorching presaged our current crisis
Great cycles rewind and reveal the hidden knowledge
Once again we see the great travail, the closing of the age

Great Sun brings suddenly a great material success
Families benefit from the new economic confluence
Most precious things in life, though, still ghost-like
learning the lesson of the Earth's great struggle

Bayani, satria, defenders of Mutia's way
celebrating the hard return of the Goddess
the renovation of the regal trunk and tip
Victory but still more struggle left to go

Great stellar clock that guides the times
Camp of Sky and Earth between the lines
Destiny plays its role and karma too
Each action and reaction starts anew

Last of the Ariyang Mutia out of the blue
Dragon and Bird Clan lives but with purpose new
Pinatubo, Arayat set the new phase
New Mounts Regent until final last days

Apung Tala brings the tale to close
From the rest of Toti, the new arose
Asu Lineage completes the quest
But for future, new deeds until the rest.